, at 90 senior affordable dwelling units, and about 22,000 square feet of non-residential support services. no parking facilities within the rh-4 north of market district. the project requires conditional use authorization. the establishment of a look of a facility above the ground floor, and exceptions are for setback requirements, rear yard viable. the project also requires variants in broad street loading as the proposed loading area does not meet the dimensional requirements of the code. the project will replace the existing st. anthony's kitchen and dining facilities with a new updated facility and construct 90 new affordable housing units for seniors, including homeless seniors. project includes philanthropic

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service above the ground floor, including clothing exchange service. the department has received seven letters of support, primarily from other social service providers. an extensive outreach effort was conducted with over 25 community meetings since 2007. the department is not aware of opposition to the project. the department recommends the commission approve the project, as the project will provide 90 new housing units for variable income and homeless seniors. the project is an important philanthropic use, providing essential social services to traditionally underserved persons in the city, and it advances the objectives and policies of the general plan and meet requirements of the planning code. i am available for questions. thank you very much. commissioner olague: thank you. project sponsor? >> good afternoon,

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commissioners. i am executive director of st. anthony's foundation. i'm joined this afternoon by the architect for hkit architects. we would like to provide you with a brief presentation on the inception and goals of our project and its design. said anthony foundation was founded by franciscan father alfred o. decker in october 1950. our mission is to heal, shelter, clove, lift the spirits of those in need, and create a society where all persons can flourish. we are committed to providing the pores of sanford cisco with a great way to reclaiming their sense of dignity and progressing towards stability -- the port of san francisco. st. anthony's dining room was open 50 years ago, providing hot and trichet mills in the space

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at 121 golden gate avenue that had been an auto repair shop. our services to disadvantaged and economically poor people have increased dramatically. every day, st. anthony's provides thousands of people with food, clothing, drug and alcohol recovery, and medical services, and next month, we will serve our 37 million meal. for the past 10 years, st. anthony foundation has been working on improving our delivery of services to our guests in manner that also lessens the impact of those services on our community. we have explored many options over the years to improve services within the existing 121 golden gate avenue structure, which has been modified over the years. in order to add needed community services. in the end, after our exhaustive analysis, we found that it is just not feasible to again modernize and increase our services.

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we realized we needed more space. so we embarked on a two-part plan. the first was to develop 150 golden gate avenue to a house our medical clinic, social work center, and technology labs. the building was completed in 2008, and those services are successfully operating on that side. our second part is to develop 121 golden gate avenue with an improved, expanded, and fully accessible dining room with an open arcade off the city's sidewalks to move the line substantially off of the sidewalk. the building will pose a free clothing program and a social center on the second floor. by relocating our social work services, it will mean that our dining room guest will be more readily able to access those services. during the development process, many people, including planning department staff, indicated that the billing would be a better fit in the environment on the corner of 121 golden gate

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avenue if the building were similar in height to neighboring structures. community members also were marked on the need for more affordable housing. so we reached out to be the developer of affordable housing above the first two floors. together with mercy housing, we determined that senior housing would be the most compatible use of our side, given the aggressive services of st. anthony's. marissa housing has established a program that includes nine units of affordable housing -- 90 units of affordable housing. it will often hat -- also have open space, community rooms, and a lounge. the lobby will be located on the fourth floor, and it will be staffed 24/7. i can say we are all excited about the project and it will significantly improve the quality of services we provide. it will address community concerns regarding lines for the dining room. it will bring much needed

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affordable housing and can cheviot to the overall improvement of the tenderloin neighborhood. commissioner olague: thank you. did someone from mercy housing want to speak? no? ok. >> afternoon now. i'm going to briefly go over some of the major design considerations and had in the project. i think your packet does a good job of highlighting most of them, but i will try to take up just a little time. as you are aware, the building is a compilation of two functions of the replacement of

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st. anthony's dining room facilities and their distribution, as well as a new community of 90 senior units, and the building is designed to fit into the neighborhood in the same way that a similar building across the street anchors itself to the corner. the building has a strong streak facade. it's a perk -- separates itself from the existing hotel, which is here on this piece of jones, and then up the street on the golden gate is the church and the building's steps down to acknowledge the height of that as well. this is a shot of the other side of the building, which is the

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courtyard side, which is screened by the majority of the building mass. you can see at the podium level, which is the third level, the first housing level, we have carved the building back and created a landscape podium for the use of the senior community and topped it on the back of the building, such that it is protected from both the wind and the discrete sounds and also, it allows the building itself, the tower, as you can see, to step away from both the boy hotel, over there on your right here, and then this element here, which is the free, to allow the existing windows and residents to maintain their light and air exposure.

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and the site is part of an historic neighborhood, and we have worked diligently over the past few years to design this building so that it fits in compatible with the existing texture and the feel of the tender 1, and we have worked with planning to refine the design a number of times to make that occur, and some of the major issues and elements are the three-part arrangement of the 10-story structure to a more traditional building that has a base, which is the first two levels need to be exposed, and then kind of a body and a crown or a cap, which is the upper floors here. we have looked at a number of patterns in the neighborhood in terms of window openings that are prevalent, and we tried to replicate that type of pattern here. we have included the use of bay windows, which occur in the

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neighborhood a lot, and we have also looked at the materials to try to include something reminiscent of masonry in this building, and those are these panels here, which are terracotta panels or tiles. the assemblage that you see reflects a lot of those elements, and we feel like at this point, it blends in quite well with the neighborhood and is very harmonious for the type of window patterning and materials. some of the other major design elements are the open arcade, which was issued in st. anthony's dining room, which basically use the public sidewalks for their guests to line up, and we have created an open arcade along the base on both streets, which will allow

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the queue in line to occur off the street and separate it from public sidewalks and provide a nice view into the dining room in off hours. that is the back wall that you see, and the arcade is always, and that is where the dining room element it sells its. at night, there are a number of decorative grillwork elements that will coil and come down. we're planning to use the same system and is that it looked -- aesthetic looke. at night, there will still be alive, but the arcade will not be visible to anyone in off hours. both -- we tried to make each of them unique said that they have their own identity. you enter into the reception

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area, and before you q what, and just off the street, under this blaze element here is actually the entry point for senior housing, which has a lobby at street level and has its own set of elevators, and each will have a separate arcade, separate entry element of of it, and separate identity in a large building. happy to answer any questions you might have about the design element. commissioner olague: none at this time. thank you. at this time, we will open it up for public comment. but before we do, i was going to ask if there is anyone in the audience who is in opposition to the project. oh, ok. and then we will ask others to stand up to show their support, and certainly, you can still

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speak if you would like to. >> good afternoon, commissioners. thomas picarello. we are all in support of [inaudible] commissioner olague: don't hold it. >> oh, sorry. we are all in favor of affordable housing for seniors, but this project as proposed, i think, fails to recognize the impact it will have on the tenant is next door -- the tenants next door. there are many seniors and disabled in the boy hotel, and two years of heavy construction will certainly deprive them of quiet enjoyment. secondly, i do not think a food line and senior housing are compatible usage. st. anthony's has a brand-new

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kitchen across the street that has not been used for chip we will years. -- for two years. i am in favor of the project if there is no food line. food lines are disrespectful for seniors in my opinion. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. i would like to ask at this time for all those in favor to stand up to show your support. certainly you can still speak to the project it you would like, but it seemed as though there was an overwhelming number of those. thank you. if any of you would like to speak, i welcome you to the microphone at this time. >> [inaudible] you can look at me and tell i'm a senior. 78 years old.

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i would like to say the build a pilot in his wonderful. let me say what i can say about mercy -- anyone who is fortunate enough to live in one of mercy's buildings -- they have part of the american dream. they will be building in the tenderloin and follow the strict code of the u.s. green building council and get a silver raging -- rating. what marvelous people you are. you are the american dream builders. i have a very nice apartment. i'm extremely proud of my kitchen. fr double faults, not including the stove and refrigerator. i can plug in my toaster, by crock pot, use the blender, use

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the electric can opener, and also, my high blood pressure kit, i can plug that in, too. i have a custom-made wooden cabinets with tons of space, with a marble counter. right out of better om and gardens. it is enjoyable tclean it, to keep it clean. the garden is another beautiful caring hands. let me talk about management. management is a solid team of smiling faces. it makes one feel like working there muste fun. everyone is knowledgeable, helpful, courteous, problem- solving professionals. they have master their areas of expertise.

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i've been so inspired that i gave a fancy party called staff appreciation day last year. people showed their respect by giving testimony to the staff members. there is only one thing that is sad there -- there are 100 apartments, and in this community, only have eight english-speaking people to talk to. i teach esl. larissa g erying i needed to use for the lessons. t senior aff ming o y one d ulnotry to learn enish. th wt ck eial language groups,nd it lile lonely in my american dream. thank you. commissioner olague: is there

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any additional public comment? >> no, you are going to speak now. >> good afternoon. i worked with san francisco network ministry. we have been in the tenderloin about 30 years. we run tenderloin technology labs for homeless people who are very lonely people trying to overcome the digital divide. we also run the safe house program for women, for homeless women trying to get out of prostitution. we just wanted to support the project and tell you we think it is a wonderful thing, and we hope that you folks approve it because there's such a huge need for senior housing in the tenderloin. we everyday work with people who are basically desperate for good housing, like you just heard about, and we have a great deal of respect for mercy as a developer, and also for st.

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anthony's foundation because they treat their clients with respect. very sensitive service provision. also, we are involved in tenderloin futures collaborative, a group that is made up of business people, residents, and organizations in the tenderloin, and the project has been presented many times, so there is a lot of community and put that went into this, and mercy and st. anthony's foundation have been very open and sensitive to taking neighborhood concerns into account, so we hope you approve that. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. is there any additional public comment? >> i have been for dissipating. when i heard the foundation for my family and friends, i was

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very much interested and wanted to be a volunteer. now i am a volunteer and have been for years now, so i am thankful because it was a pleasure working with this foundation that help and served the community here also, to the partnership between st. anthony's foundation and sanford cisco network, i completed a course in the technology hardware -- between st. anthony's foundation and san francisco network. commissioner olague: find you. any additional public comment? -- thank you. any additional public comment?

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>> good afternoon. i have been working for the foundation -- st. anthony foundation now for 13 years, which has been a true pleasure. the work that the foundation does is very broad and expansive. the one advantage that i have, compared to some of the staff at work there, is the fact that i know the foundation from both sides. 1996, i went through the st. anthony foundation alcohol and drug rehab. i am an alcoholic and a drug addict, but i have a clean now, as of next month, for 15 years, thanks to st. anthony foundation. i feel that any place that can give people a second chance like that, especially after going through the rehabilitation program and then hiring them on top of it to do the work that we do has got to be an advantage

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for any community. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. is there any additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner miguel. commissioner miguel: just to correct some of the comments that were made and it is understandable, commissioner olague and i switched roles. i am now vice-president. she is president of the commission. as far as the project is concerned, i think it is an excellent project. very well thought out. it has been planned in stages, which works, and everything that i have been able to discover about it, the phasing is very good. as far as the organizations that are involved, i did not think any further comment is necessary.

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the commission and myself are well aware of the work they do for the city. with that, just to get things going, i would move adoption of findings, and approval of a conditional use with conditions. >> second. commissioner moore: i would like to ask the architect a couple of questions. my question is -- having the entry to the dining hall close to the entry of the seniors could potentially be a problem because the curing on st. anthony is a very long one. the center has great need of people when they are right, the

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and hungry. there is often multiple people, and crowding or clumping of people in a manner that potentially could interfere. have you taken that into consideration? >> we have. we actually worked probably for a couple of years now with both mercy and said that is in terms of how the injuries work and with the killing occurs, and the location -- where the queuing occurs, and the location, as it hits jones, it continues to slow down, and as you enter the queue it in the lobby of st. anthony's, you will get into that arcade, which then goes down into the corner and turns up. dow jones, there is a level, so by the time you get to the point where you into the dining room, we figure it will probably hold several hundred people and also sidewalks, but you are about 6

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feet above the sidewalk at the point you enter. commissioner olague: and you are prepared, should there be any interference, people will help keep the entrance free of interference with people entering. >> yes, st. anthony's has staff, and they can probably speak to that, as to how they intended to use them, but they do have a fairly visible staff that is out in the queuing lines at all times. commissioner moore: thank you very much. i took a tour of the tenderloin just a few weeks ago. what became very apparent is that the distribution of light poles, uniform lighting, is quite spotty in the tenderloin. it was amazing to me because that being brought to our attention, and i was wondering if you paid particular attention to public works providing proper street lighting, both on jones street as well as going up

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on golden gate. it is actually quite shocking. commissioner sugaya jan diversion that to be on stretches where there are light poles missing. it creates a very uneven and and said pavin for pedestrians to walk, and as you are bringing in more seniors, a larger number becomes a very important issue, and it goes beyond some small lighting on the building facade. it goes to the proper state lighting of street lighting at the right height. have you all looked at that? if not, i would very much urge you to do so and have public works give you an answer. >> i have not looked into that, but i will certainly bring it up with policy makers. commissioner olague: these projects are the ones that often allow the city to look at it again and fill in with their is something missing.

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you have construction. you also have quarter construction on mcalester and jones, so you might as well do it all at once -- corner construction on mcallister and jones. commissioner antonini: this is a wonderful project. one of our earlier, enters brought up a good point, and that is the new building will provide improved electrical service, which is often not the case in some of the older structurescommenters brought upd point. i think this is a big advantage. now that you cannot do it in construction on older structures, too, but it is a lot more expensive and difficult to do, and this will be a big

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benefit. one of the mind of benefits, but one worth mentioning of the new construction with these housing units. commissioner sugaya: i am quite supportive, and to reinforce commissioner moore's, and, if mr. crawford to check into that, and i would like to have staff that particular attention to the historic preservation commission's, into the eir -- comment to the eir where they suggest the proposed project should continue to be worked on with planning staffs. i will not go through the whole comment, but just to reinforce that. also, under the conditions of approval of your final design and final materials, its staff could -- one of my observations, i think, is that this is not quite in character with the national register historic

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district, and i say that from the standpoint of what was characterized by the architect. i think if there could be a little bit less more conscious window effect, maybe. also, i do not think that the characteristics and national register district, the buildings in the district do not express their structural system on the exterior as this one does. those are some suggestions. i would also suggest your staff could check with commissioners, as i said before on other projects. then have them spend a session with staff and designer on this project. commissioner moore: i think none of us really wants to tinker with the building, but i would agree with what commissioner sugaya